DEATH PENALTY APPEALS PACKAGE DISMISSED

Bills were designed to speed process, spare families grief

SACREMENTO The Senate Public Safety Committee Tuesday dismissed a two-bill package touted as a streamlining of death penalty appeals that would spare families years of grief and save the state money.

Taken together, the measures proposed to eliminate the automatic appeal of capital cases directly to the state Supreme Court, giving justices the option of whether to hear a capital challenge only after it has exhausted normal appellate channels.

Under current law, neither the inmate nor the court has any choice. All death penalty cases are sent directly to the highest court for a review, dragging out legal proceedings for years.

“By speeding up the death penalty for those who commit murder, California will ensure justice is not necessarily delayed or denied,” said Sen. Joel Anderson, a La Mesa Republican who carried the package. “Appeals would still be allowed if there were actual grounds — just like any criminal case.”

Anderson drew opposition from disparate groups, including the statewide lobbying arms of public defenders, district attorneys and the American Civil Liberties Union. These critics said the lengthy days can be blamed on a shortage of defense lawyers versed in capital punishment as well as general court backlogs. They also worry about putting an innocent person to death.

Regardless of the debate in the Capitol, Californians could have the final say. An initiative is likely to qualify for the November ballot that would repeal capital punishment and replace it with life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Anderson’s primary support came from Marc Klass, a well-known advocate for victims whose daughter, Polly, was kidnapped, assaulted and killed by a parolee who has been sitting on death row for nearly 16 years.

Klass’ frustration boiled over after the committee rejected Senate Bill 1514 and was on the verge of voting against Senate Constitutional Amendment 20.

“You people don’t care about my daughter, You don’t care about any of the victims,” Klass told the panel. After he was admonished and told part of the solution involved money, Klass demanded: “How much does it cost to do nothing? How much does it cost to let this go on year after year? How much does it cost to have Richard Allen Davis on death row for 30 years?”

Davis stole into a bedroom of Klass’ suburban Petaluma home, kidnapping by knife point and later killing the 12-year-old Polly. It took nearly 13 years for his automatic appeal to reach the state Supreme Court, which summarily upheld his conviction. His appeal is now before a federal court.

Anderson presented the committee with a series of enlarged mug shots of notorious murderers, including Davis, awaiting execution for a dozen years or more.

“We’re talking about coldblooded killers,” he said.

But critics, even those accustomed to sparring over law and order issues, said the measure is flawed. Daniel Felizzatto, a deputy district attorney with the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s office, warned there would be “unintended consequences,” from backlogged appellate courts to potentially putting the wrong person to death.

“The main reason for delay is, defendants do not have attorneys appointed for them. This bill does nothing to resolve that problem,” Felizzatto said.

Allen Hopper, an attorney for the ACLU, said every state but Alabama requires automatic appeals in capital cases.

Hopper added that appellate courts would have to hire specialized staff to handle death penalty appeals that are notoriously complex. “This is not going to save money. ... It’s going to cost more money,” he said.

California spends about $184 million a year on the slightly more than 700 people still on death row, according to supporters of a repeal.